Man in a Tree

How do you help a man who has slept three nights in a tree? A man who has slept in a tree rather than on the ground for fear of being attacked. A man who says he has been abandoned by his partner with no money, no spare clothes, and no identification. The Salvation Army hostels were all full; and the local authority hostel offered to see him - but a man without id and proof of benefits can't be admitted into a hostel.

Yesterday we warmed our friend up, gave him the benefit of the doubt in terms of his story along with some food, a rail fare, and a letter of introduction to the local authority hostel.

But tonight he came back having spent a fourth night in the tree. All out of ideas now, and unwilling to give any more money, we gave him a hot meal, made some sandwiches and found some fruit - and off he went to try and get himself back home to at least get some id.

Frustrated at the limitations of what we can do, and angry that someone can get into this position in the first place, I am most struck by the fear in his eyes. A grown, fit, strong man frightened by his experiences on the streets and frightened at the prospect of more time there.

I sit writing this, reflecting on my meeting with him, in the warmth of my home. "Come, Lord Jesus" we sing - sometimes so glibly. We look to God's redemptive plan to make the whole of creation new, where no one need sleep in a tree. We live in between the Kingdom now and the Kindom not yet - but today the tension is hard to live in.

Serial Disconnects

Last week we had the privilege of conducting a funeral for a lady who I didn't know, and who was only known to a couple of members of the church. The family, none of whom are church attenders, and half of whom aren't speaking to the other half, wanted me to make some personal comments about the lady all the same, so I visited, listened, made notes and included some appropriate remarks in my message. For all of that I am still left with a feeling that I completely failed to make any connection.

This week has been an interesting week (and it's only Wednesday) in which I have met some interesting people. Three encounters one after the other have given me lots to think about.

Firstly, a lady came in wanting our help in getting rehoused. We had a long conversation in which I tried to explain that all I could do was make some phone calls on her behalf, but she wouldn't give me any details once I went to get a notebook. As always, there was another side of her story that she wasn't prepared to share with me. After a while she thanked me and left, maybe a little less aggressive than she arrived. I'm not sure what was achieved.

As she left, one of our "regulars" came in and before I had even held out my hand he was telling me about his anxiety. He attends worship occasionally, but struggles with all kinds of mental health problems. We have tried to befriend him, but every conversation starts and ends the same. After a while he left. I'm not sure what was achieved.

A short while later another lady came in - a mature student from overseas looking for a church. I spent some time talking to her, praying with her, trying to make sense of her faltering English, hoping she would make be able to make some sense of me. I wasn't sure what was achieved...

...until the following day the lady came to Alpha.

I constantly try to encourage all our staff and volunteers to go the extra mile in trying to make Jesus known to everyone that we encounter, but in a day of conversations with people needing help how have I managed to do that? In a period of one disconnect after another I am thinking that it's no use trying to be a signpost to the Kingdom if people don't even recognise a signpost when they see one.

I'm not sure what was achieved, but I am thankful that God sent these people our way, and I think He will find a way to overcome my failures to connect.

All Hallows Eve

Being on holiday last week meant that I didn't have to tolerate the banality of Halloween and trick-or-treating children. Theological objections aside the Americanisation that make this the second most commercially "holiday" after Christmas brings out the grumpy old man in me.

However, the break at Centerparcs made me realise what it is that really bothers me: it isn't the children, after all, but the adults that accompany them. Centerparcs got in on the act by putting on a Halloween treasure hunt - which we were happy to opt out of - but the spectacle of adults in fancy dress paying over the odds for pre-carved pumpkins seemed to be over-indulgent parenting at its worst.

Next day, the pumpkins were on a sale pile and the Christmas trees were up!

...But that was not exactly a surprise.

Last week we had 34 kids attend our church's Light Party. Not sure they didn't all get dragged into Halloween nonsense as well, but hopefully something we were able to share last week has stuck with them.

Red Squirrels

Just back from a really good family break at the Centerparcs resort in the Lake District. A good week to just do dad stuff - and only a couple of hours from home. I didn't realise that red squirrels were still around in significant numbers in the UK, but Cumbria has lots. The amount of effort that forest rangers etc. put into protecting red squirrels is very impressive - but the public are involved too - we were all invited to contact the squirrel-watch team if we saw any grey squirrels in Cumbria.

Autumn colours in the Lake District were fantastic.

Holiday came to a crashing end the minute we walked through the front door to a note complaining about our security system going off all week and an answerphone message asking us to conduct a funeral this week.

But if God is involved in making red squirrels (as well as the grey vermin types) then I guess He will sustain us as we take our places back on the bridge this week.